7-Eleven owner says Couche-Tard understates antitrust risk in takeover proposal
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/03/2025 (366 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
MONTREAL – The Japanese parent company of 7-Eleven says Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is understating the antitrust risk related to its takeover offer for the company.
In a pair of documents, Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. says the proposal is a transformational cross-border acquisition involving significant regulatory hurdles unlike other deals done by the Quebec-based convenience store operator.
The Japanese company says it is working with Couche-Tard to evaluate potential divestitures to increase the likelihood of satisfying U.S. antitrust regulators and any potential court challenge.
However, it says it will not enter into a transaction with no clear path to closing that could leave the company in a “value destructive limbo” for multiple years.
“We have been insistent on ensuring a clear path to antitrust regulatory approval as a first step for one reason: a deal that doesn’t close is not a deal, and it will destroy shareholder value,” Seven & i said in a statement.
Couche-Tard said earlier this month that it believes there is a clear path to regulatory approval in the U.S. and that it has a successful track record of working with U.S. and other regulators to secure approvals of transactions.
“We have reiterated several times over the past few months that we intend to be friendly and persistent in pursuing a transaction, which we believe is in the best interest of all stakeholders,” Couche-Tard said.
In October, Seven & i said it received a revised non-binding proposal from Couche-Tard that media reports suggested was valued at US$47 billion, about 22 per cent higher than an offer it made in August.
A management buyout proposal for Seven & i by a member of the family that helped found the company collapsed last month after it was unable to secure financing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:ATD)